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Since I saw the movie Cowspiracy I have been eating for the most part a vegan diet. I have been finding it pretty easy, especially when I am the one cooking, my boyfriend however has been missing some of our treat meals such as nachos. Since our diet before was vegetarian, I figured I could probably make some really good nachos if I found a good vegan cheese substitute and could make some “sour cream”. The cheese I used was Daiya, it was the only one available and is soy free, so I felt lucky to find it at all up here in the sticks – it is okay, especially when you have all that other good stuff on there like guacamole and salsa. For the “sour cream”. There are many “sour cream” recipes online and I combined a few of what I thought were the best. My boyfriend really liked it, that is always my litmus test. The next day I made tacos with the left over ingredients and I am sure that this sauce would be great on other treats, like a dip for home made baked yam fries.

1 TBSP of nutritional yeast
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 cup of cashews soaked over night and then drained
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Blend in high power blender like a Vitamix until smooth – probably 3 minutes will do it. If you like it more tangy add in more lemon juice or more apple cider vinegar. The next time I make this I am going to see about adding less water to make it a little thicker. I did add in a few shakes of garlic salt though I am not sure how much that added to the flavor, I may skip it next time.

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It can be confusing when it comes to the best way to lose weight. I am often asked what is the best cleanse for weight loss. Unfortunately there is no magic pill. Wouldn’t it be great if there was? As I was working out with my trainer yesterday I said exactly that. My arms were throbbing from an awesome workout and I thought, if my arms looked as toned as they feel right now, this would be amazing and wouldn’t it be even better if I could just wish it to be so?! Since we all live in the real world, I will be sharing with you some tips on what to look for when researching a cleanse and some tricks and hints for keeping expectations in check. The first thing to know is that cleanses that put your body into a state of starvation will trigger your body to store fat, in other words, not lose it, so don’t do that. Intermittent fasting for a day or two is considered healthy but going for longer than 2 days without food is not a good idea. Look for a nutritional cleanse, something that will flood your body with nutrients as it cleanses. Make sure that it is organic or above organic standards, ensure that you are getting vitamins and minerals and are replenishing the body at the same time that you are cleansing it. If you are finding the days without eating a slog, remind yourself of the luxury that you have to choose to give your body a break and to not eat for a few days. Not everyone has that choice. Keep your mindset positive. Focusing on the scale can be very detrimental. Do not think of your cleanse as a quick fix, think of it as part of a new lifestyle, something that you will do regularly throughout the year. Each time you cleanse, make it a goal to come out of it with a new and better habit. Embrace something new, like having a sparkling water with lemon in it, instead of defaulting to ordering a soda at lunch. Choose a salad instead of fries for a side meal. Just make it your goal to come out of the program with one healthy habit. One healthy habit leads you to have better awareness and making better choices, it leads you to feeling better, not only in your body but also in your mind – you are in control.

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I love Greek salads, they are easy, tasty and healthy. I often will eat one as a full meal but I know my bf is always looking for something a little more substantial so I came up with this powered up version. What I like about this is that you can prepare the beans days ahead and let then marinate in the fridge and they just get better over time. It reminds me of the three bean salad idea that my mother used to make, does anyone know what I am talking about or was that just popular in my household? Let me know what you think. Serves 2

Use everything organic whenever possible
2 tomatoes chopped
1 English cucumber cubed
1 small sweet onion diced – I like my onion pieces quite small
6 TBSP of sliced olives – I prefer this because you get more olives in each bite & the calories are less.
4 TBSP of low fat feta cheese
Mix together in a mixing bowl.

1.5 cups of cooked garbanzo beans. You can buy them in a can but I always soak mine and I prefer this as it is easy to do. I soak over night in lots of water so that they can expand, I drain them and rinse them and put in boiling water with 1-2 tsp of baking soda. The baking soda is key and helps give them a softer fluffier texture. Google this to see what I mean.

Dressing: I put all of this into my Isablender and it chops the garlic for me & whips it into a nice frothy dressing.
3 TBSP of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBSP of good quality olive oil
4 cloves of garlic minced. I like garlic so some people might find this too much.
1 TBSP of fresh oregano if you have it, if not, then used dried.
pepper to taste
If you have the time, marinate the beans overnight in this dressing, then the next day mix the beans and dressing into the vegetables. If I have kale or lettuce that needs to be used, I will make a base of that in each large bowl and then put the mixture over top. This is a one dish meal. If you are using kale, de-bone the stem and chop the leaves into ribbons & massage the dressing into the leaves with your hands.

Total calories per serving: 350-400
Wait 20 minutes after eating to know if you truly are hungry for more. If you are, then eat, if not but you still want to eat, go for a walk, have a cup of herbal tea, have an Isadelight or do all three!

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I am a big proponent of cleansing and intermittent fasting. It took me awhile to get to this point as I had a very negative idea about cleansing. The cleanses that I knew about were the ones that put the body into starvation, i.e. the Master Cleanse (cayenne pepper, maple syrup & lemon juice for weeks) or those that stripped the body of good bacteria as well as bad and those that re-circulated the toxins back into the bloodstream. Cleansing, when done properly can have amazing benefits for the body, such as: clarity of mind, improved sleep and mood, better digestion, fat loss, increased muscle tone & less body discomfort to name only a few.

Not all cleanses are equal which is why I promote and choose for myself the Isagenix program – www.cleanseenergy.com is a nutritionally sound program that floods the body with high quality absorbable nutrition and it incorporates intermittent fasting. Studies have shown that intermittent fasting may limit inflammation, protect against cardiovascular disease, reduce oxidative stress, blood pressure and total cholesterol levels and modulate levels of dangerous visceral fat.

If you are not ready to dive right in and want to make some small baby steps towards full cleansing here are some things you can change in your diet that over time will have a big impact:

Drink more water – work up to at least half your in ounces, in doing this you probably won’t have much room for sodas or juice.

Read labels on foods that you consume regularly and start to eliminate things with fake sugars – this includes aspartame, Equal, Sweet and Low and Splenda, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and food coloring.

Learn about genetically modified foods also know as GMO foods and start to avoid them or at least the most common ones that you eat.

Buy organic food. If you are budget conscious, then start with animal products first and move on to vegetables – see here for a top list of the Dirty Dozen.

Cari-Lee Stevens is an Executive with Isagenix. If you are ready to embark on a new health journey and would like some guidance in the purchase of your Isagenix products please be in touch with Cari-Lee, she will be able to tailor a program suited to your goals and needs. You may reach her at carilee@cleansegirl.com or by phone at 604 800 8300 (does not support texting) or her US cell number 480 684 2544.

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The year 2013, ended with a bang, quite literally. My plan was to spend 4 to 5 months in Mexico from December into the new year.

On December 18th I was woken to the sounds of what I thought was dumpsters rolling along the pavement. I had rented a beautiful condo overlooking the ocean in a very quiet and peaceful area where there are really not that many tourists. It ended up that it wasn’t a dumpster, it was a full on gun battle with grenades and machine guns that lasted from 5:30 am until about 9:30 am. I truly thought I might die. Next to the first sailing trip I took where we ended up in an epic storm, it was the scariest experience in my life. Even though I was out of my comfort zone, I decided to stay for another 3 weeks until it was time for me to fly to my Isagenix convention in Dallas, Texas. I had to come up with Plan B for what to do for the next few months if it wasn’t going to be Mexico, so I decided that a project would be a good idea. While I was in Mexico, I purchased a 4 bedroom, 2200 sq foot home in the McCormick Ranch area of Scottsdale. I was looking for something that had some upside with the potential for a juicy fix and flip. I kept hearing that there was no money to be made in doing this and it was impossible to get a good deal, however I managed to successfully fix and flip it within a 5 month period. Click here to see some before and after photos. This was my first time doing such a project and it was an amazing learning experience.

I spent a lot of my time while in Arizona, meeting new friends, hanging out in a different neighborhood and doing a lot of hiking. In late May I was back in Whistler. I am a sun seeker and this was a bit early in the year for me but I knew my time would be short there so it was something I was looking forward to. I had enjoyed the gorgeous transformation of the house in Scottsdale that I didn’t get the chance to live in, so I decided it was time for a once and for all overhaul of the Whistler residence. Again I was very pleased with the results. Click here to see before and afters.

In June, I decided to go back to Mexico. My friends Doug and Herb have a great little place in Puerta Vallarta with gorgeous views of the bay that they let us use. We spent a wonderful week there and I was glad to be back in Mexico. I didn’t want to let one not so great incident to put a damper on it for me permanently.

In early July my parents came to spend some time with us which was great. We took them on long hikes and we did a ton of outdoor activity. I love and appreciate how active they are. Later in the month one of my new friends from Arizona flew to the Okanagan and I met her there. Sue and I had a blast wine tasting in this amazing region. It was so fun to see someone who doesn’t know anything about the region be so blown away by all that there was to offer. It is an undiscovered gem for most of the world still.

By the time August rolled around it was time to hit the road again. The month was shaping up to be a big one. My girlfriend Lucy invited us to her beach house on the Sunshine Coast to hang out with a big group of friends.
Being there is always such a treat.

From there I drove to Vancouver and then flew to Edmonton for a family wedding. The wedding was the same day as my big yearly Isagenix conference so I left early the next morning and managed to attend the last half of my event in San Diego. Always a fun and inspirational time.

From San Diego I flew to Ontario where my boyfriend picked me up in my new Prius and we drove across the country back to Whistler. The Prius isn’t sexy but it holds a lot and it is good for the environment, so I am happy with it. Joe on the other hand wishes I had opted for something else. Stops were made in Detroit to see good friends who now live there and I finally got a chance to check out Chicago, what a great town! I drove through Big Sky Montana and then finally ended up at my parent’s place in BC where we hung out for a couple of days.

In late September I went again to Phoenix for an Isagenix event with a few new friends, including my Phoenix Realtor Alison and my friend Sue. While there I looked for my very first apartment building to purchase. I have been looking for a long time on and off and I finally made the plunge. So on October 31st, I became the new owner of my first residential multiplex! That was a goal I had for a long time and I was happy to see it come to fruition.

For our Thanksgiving In October, one of my good friends Ronnie came from Arizona to spend it with us. I met Ronnie when I first moved to AZ, so it was nice to have a long term friend come and hang out. It was his first Canadian Thanksgiving and he soaked it up. We went on lots of hikes & had some good times with my friends Doug and Herb who also came up for the weekend.

November and December were low key in Whistler which was fine by me. We hosted a few dinner parties and a highlight was that my brothers came up to visit. It is rare to have all of us in the same country, nevermind the same place at once, but with a little planning and some effort on their end they made it. For the rest of the time I got to enjoy my newly renovated place, go to the gym a lot and basically chill out.

What is awesome about this year, looking back on it was that I had totally different plans for 2014. If I hadn’t experienced the gun battle, I would not have come back to Arizona when I did. I would not have met my amazing new friend and realtor Alison who sold my Scottsdale fix and flip and who sold me the multiplex. I would not have met my amazingly talented friend Sue who I love to spend time with and there are so many other ripple effects that happened from that one incident.

As I always say, life is a gift, that is meant to be lived. I hope you are enjoying a great start to 2015 with lots of love, good health and happiness.